Pecan Sandies
These cookies from Bravetart's Stella Parks are easier than the roll-out ones from Smitten Kitchen, but sacrifice none of the flavor.
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1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (3 ounces) toasted pecan pieces 1 1/4 sticks (5 ounces) unsalted butter 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp (6 ounces) sugar 1/4 cup packed (2 ounces) light brown sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (half if iodized) 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 large egg yolk, straight from the fridge |
In a 1 quart stainless steel saucier, melt the butter over medium-low heat. When it begins to bubble/hiss, stir with a spatula, scraping the edges of the pan as you go, as browned bits form. Continue stirring until the butter is silent and is golden yellow. Immediately scrape butter and toasty bits into a bowl and let cool to about 75° - 25 minutes in the fridge or about 1 hour at room temperature.
Set oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°. Sift the flour into a bowl. Finely chop/crush the pecans and toss with the flour. Stir the sugar, brown sugar, vanilla salt and baking soda into the cooled butter, then mix in the egg yolk. Fold in the flour mixture to form a sandy dough. Arrange 1 tbsp (3/4 ounce) portions on a lined baking sheet, spaced 2" apart. Flatten slightly into 3/4" rounds. Bake until sandy brown, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature on the sheet. Store in an airtight container up to 3 weeks at room temperature. |
Source: Bravetart
Notes:
Notes:
- You can chop the pecans or just smash them with a pestle or whatever is handy until they are as fine as you can make them. Little chunks will remain, and that's fine.
- These were delicious - but a tad on the sweet side for me. Next time I'll try 3/4 cup sugar.
- Used only 4 oz of white sugar rather than 6 oz - nicely sweet, but now the cookies were greasy. Perhaps try reducing the butter to 4 oz too?
- 350° convection got these nicely browned: I might try 325° next time.